Gender Loving Care
by PB7
Summary: THIS IS NOT A GENDER-SWAP-TYPE STORY. I just wanted to make that clear for anyone scared by the title. Real Summary: When Skipper pressures Marlene with female stereotypes, the two are in a constant quarrel. How can they come up with a solution to help each other understand what the other goes through?


**Author's Note:** I'd originally posted this fan fiction to fanpop, and would like to give thanks to SJF_Penguin2 (GrandOldPenguin) for his feedback and constructive criticism. I've made necessary edits and hope you enjoy the story.

* * *

"Come on, Rico! Step on it! We only have seven seconds!" Skipper ordered over the sound of the wind whipping past their faces and the engine accelerating.

Rico pressed harder on the gas, his brow lowered in deep concentration and anticipation. The vibration beneath them increased with the speed and they felt the frequency through their bones. The car whizzed over the finish line and Rico brought the car to a skidding halt.

"Whoo! Way to go, Rico! We shaved two-point-six seconds off of our best time! High fives! All around!" Skipper exclaimed, exchanging high fives with his men.

"Hey, guys! What's up?" Marlene asked as she approached the front of the car.

"Well, Marlene, there are scattered clouds at approximately forty-one-hundred feet up, humidity is around 63%, pollen count is about four-point-seven—" Skipper interrupted him with a slap to the back of the head.

"She meant 'what are we doing'."

"Right…" Kowalski replied rubbing his head.

Skipper rolled his eyes. "Anyway…We just made a new zoo record," he continued smugly, leaning back in the seat.

Marlene rolled her eyes. "Haven't you beat that thing, like, fourteen times already?"

"Eighteen, actually," Skipper replied slipping a smooth low five to Rico.

Marlene sighed. "I just don't get why it's such a big deal."

"Marlene! We _pride _ourselves on a rapid response. The faster we get to a situation, the faster we can fix the situation. If we're lucky, it involves violence," Skipper said with a grin.

Rico smacked the steering wheel. "Yeah! Violence!"

"Hoo-ah-ha!" Skipper exclaimed jumping up in his seat and exchanging a few more high fives with his men.

Marlene simply cocked her eyebrow and hip and crossed her arms to express her unamusement.

When Skipper took notice, he rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't expect you to understand. This is business that us men should handle."

Marlene suddenly became defensive. "What do you mean 'business that you _men _should handle'?"

"I'm just saying that women are just too feminine to understand men interests. There's no reason to get offended," Skipper answered nonchalantly, relaxing back down into the passenger-side seat.

"I could say the same thing about men to women's interests," Marlene pointed out, standing taller.

"_Women _interests? You mean like arranging bouquets, pillow fights, and makeovers? You're right, I _don't _understand the appeal," Skipper replied with a slight roll of his eyes.

"I say, you just don't know how to have _fun_," Marlene replied crossing her arms; her eyebrows lowered as the corners of her mouth raised to form a devious expression.

"_Fun_? Sister, I have fun every day. Hard training and vanquishing enemies gives me a great sense of accomplishment. And it's very relaxing, knowing that we're making the world a better place. Right, boys?"

His men nodded in agreement.

"That's not _fun_! That's _work_! You need to learn how to have some _real _fun," Marlene argued.

"You mean like a _spa day_? Eh, sure, we'll take a massage and be on our way," Skipper said with a shrug.

Marlene scoffed. "You are so—!"

"Handsome? Brave? Smart? Why, thank you. So, when did you want to schedule that massage?" Skipper interrupted.

Marlene clenched her fists. "Arrogant and pig-headed!" she finished, now shouting in anger, then began stomping away.

"Oh, come on, Marlene, don't be like that!" Skipper called after, getting out of the car, his men following behind. "I was only kidding! Come on!"

Marlene turned on her heel to face him. "Don't give me that! You'll never understand women!"

"I could say the same about you toward men! And I am!" Skipper shot back.

"Oh, I understand _men _perfectly! You're just too busy throwing yourselves into life-threatening danger to care about what us _women _have to say about it! You put yourselves higher than women because you think we're too feminine to take care of ourselves! Right?! _Right_?!"

"It's not that we _don't _care! It's that we don't know why we _should_! We've been doing this for _years_! It's in our blood! Without us, who knows where everyone would be! And yes, I _don't _think you're capable of taking care of yourself in a life-threatening situation!"

Kowalski stepped in between them. "Now, now, you two don't have to battle it out like this!"

"_She _started it!" Skipper said jabbing his flipper in Marlene's direction.

"Now, there are more rational ways to work this out. Maybe you two should start by going your separate ways to cool off," Kowalski suggested.

"_Fine _with _me_!" Marlene said turning back on her heel toward her habitat.

"Well, don't let the door hit you!" Skipper called after.

"We're outside, Skipper!" Marlene replied over her shoulder.

"You know what I mean!"

"Oh, _no _I don't! I don't understand _anything _about men! Remember?!" Marlene snapped sarcastically.

Skipper grunted angrily and tensed his muscles tightly before turning on his heel and hitting the car. "Let's get back to HQ!" he ordered angrily. The others exchanged glances as they joined Skipper in the car.

Rico took the wheel and started up the car, then turned it toward HQ. Skipper remained in the passenger seat with his flippers folded over his chest and his cheeks still burning from the smoldering anger that remained there. A moment of silence went by before he noticed Kowalski and Private staring at him in the rear view mirror.

"Somethin' to say?" he snapped over his shoulder, causing them to flinch.

Kowalski and Private looked away awkwardly and shook their heads, mumbling 'no' or 'nothing at all'. Skipper turned back around. A moment later, Kowalski softly cleared his throat.

"You, uh…Want to talk about it?"

"No!" Skipper retorted. Another moment of awkward silence passed before Skipper spoke up again. "I can't believe her…She's so…Unappreciative," he scoffed, "she'll never understand what us men do for people like her…"

* * *

Marlene stormed into her habitat and plopped angrily into her bed.

"I just can't believe him…He doesn't understand _anything _that women go through…" she mumbled angrily to herself. "Men…Who needs them?"

Then again…Skipper _had _done a lot for her in the past…She shook her head. Despite anything he'd done for her, he apparently only did it to feel better about _himself_. She scoffed. "Incapable of taking care of myself, he says…Why are men so…Stubborn?" She jabbed her pillow with her fist.

"Hey, Marlene! You in there?" Becky's voice resounded into her habitat.

"Yeah, I'm in here," she answered. Becky stepped into her room and Stacy followed close behind.

"Are you okay?" Stacy asked. "We heard all the yelling and the next thing we knew, you were storming into your habitat."

"Ugh…Nothing. Just Skipper being a typical male," Marlene answered.

"Ah…We know how _that _is," Becky replied with a sideways glance to Stacy. "So, what'd he say?"

"Oh, just a bunch of stupid women stereotypes, like how we're incapable of taking care of ourselves, and how we don't know how to have fun and a bunch of stupid stuff like that," she answered rolling her eyes.

"Figures. And they're all the same, too," Stacy acknowledged with a roll of her own eyes. Becky nodded in agreement.

"What's with men, anyway? I mean, all they do is complain about women's faults but never try to make anything work. And _we're _the bad guys for caring? It just doesn't make sense," Marlene pondered laying on her back.

"They just think they're superior and should have all the authority. And we should just stay out of their way and follow their every command like little puppy dogs. They don't care about our needs," Becky said leaning against the wall beside Marlene's bed.

Marlene sighed. "Skipper will never understand what women like us go through for men like him."

* * *

The next morning was as usual; the penguins awoke and started their day with their morning exercises. Marlene went for a swim in her pond. Skipper had cooled down since yesterday, but there were still _hints _of irritability there.

"You call that a push up?! Come on! Put a little hustle in your muscle!"

Upon Skipper's orders, the team pushed themselves a little harder as perspiration collected on their foreheads and backs in the morning humidity.

"Hello, slap-happy penguins!" King Julien resounded as he and his subjects entered the penguins' habitat. "Rejoice! It is I, your king."

"What do you want, Ringtail?" Skipper asked, feeling even more annoyed with Julien within his peripheral vision.

"I am just here to be permanently borrowing your TV," Julien replied.

"No can do, Ringtail. Now, beat it," Skipper replied, he took notice that his men had ceased doing push ups. "Did I tell you three to rest?!" The three of them started again without hesitation, not wanting to upset him even more.

"Eh, no. You see, I am king, so, you must to be obeying," Julien told him examining his paw.

"Don't you have some kind of party to throw or something?" Skipper snapped, becoming even more irritated with Julien.

"Sheesh…Marlene was right. You _don't _know how to have fun," Julien said with a roll of his eyes.

"Wait, you _heard _all of that yesterday?" Skipper asked. The team was also caught by surprise and stopped doing push ups and got to their feet, unsure of what Skipper might do.

"Well, duh! All of France heard you yap, yap, yapping!" Julien replied making a 'blah, blah, blah' motion with his paws.

"America," Maurice corrected. "What was the point in all of that anyway?"

"That's the _point_! There _was _no point! She's just so stubborn and unappreciative!" Skipper protested.

"Skipper, you and Marlene have been friends for a long time now. Do you really want to throw all of that away over a little disagreement?" Kowalski piped up.

"It's not just a _little _disagreement! She's insulted everything we men stand for! Doesn't that bother you?" Skipper replied.

"Not if it means losing a good friend," Kowalski said with a shrug.

Skipper was about to argue, but realized that Kowalski was right, even though he found it difficult to admit.

"Eh, this has becomed a little too mushy for me, so I will be leaving. Come, my royal subjects. Let's go make fun of the elephant," Julien said making way for the exit. Maurice and Mort followed.

"Well?" Kowalski said in reaction to Skipper's silence.

Skipper sighed. "Fine. I guess you're right."

"So, you'll apologize then?" Private asked with a touch of hope to his voice.

"Why do _I _have to apologize?" Skipper asked defensively.

"Come on, Skipper, be the bigger man here," Kowalski pleaded.

Skipper battled with his conscience for a moment, then let out a long exaggerated sigh. "Fine! But I will _not _say that she was right!"

The team shrugged, accepting that that was probably the best that they were going to get him to do.

* * *

Marlene stood in her habitat, stroking the petal of a flower that was in a vase, deep in thought. She'd been friends with Skipper for a long time now, and she knew he was stubborn, but she'd never imagined he'd be so sexist.

_He's probably still laughing at me… _she thought.

"Marlene?"

The sound of Private's voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned to see the penguins standing in the middle of her room. Skipper was turned to his side with his flippers folded over his chest, obviously not wanting to be there.

"Oh, what do you guys want?" she asked, not meeting any of their gazes.

"Skipper has something he'd like to say to you," Kowalski answered pushing Skipper a couple of feet toward her.

"I don't remember saying that I'd _like _to…" Skipper mumbled under his breath.

"What is it this time, Skipper?" Marlene asked turning her head the other way and crossing her arms, ignoring his remark.

Skipper looked at his men, who made 'go on' motions. He took a deep breath and kept his eyes on the ground to his left, opposite Marlene's position. "Marlene…I came to…" He lowered his voice to a mumble, "I came to apologize…"

Marlene turned toward him slightly. "What?" She thought she heard the word 'apologize'. Surely, she must have misunderstood him.

Skipper rolled his eyes and raised his voice slightly. "I came to apologize."

Marlene let her arms fall to her sides and she turned all the way around to face him. "Really?" she said, not completely sure if she was awake at the moment. Was he really apologizing? Was he not as pig-headed as she thought?

Skipper still would not meet her eye. "Yes…I just don't want our friendship to end over a stupid disagreement."

Marlene's face fell. "_That's _why you're apologizing?"

Skipper sideways glanced at her. "Yeah…Why?"

Marlene scoffed. "Figures…" she mumbled crossing her arms again.

Skipper turned to face her. "What now? I apologized, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you're apologizing so I'll stop being mad at you. You're not _really _sorry. And you probably still think that women are needy and feminine, right?"

"Well, yeah! And I _don't _get what the big deal is! I thought you'd _appreciate _the fact that I swallowed _my _pride to come over here and apologize to save our friendship! But I guess you're more unappreciative that I thought!"

"_Unappreciative_? _I'm _unappreciative?" she exclaimed, outraged. She and Skipper were now face to face.

"Well, thank you for admitting it!"

"Oh! You know what, Skipper—?!"

"Hey! Come on! Are you two seriously going to keep battling it out like this?" Kowalski interrupted.

"She's being hardheaded!" Skipper protested.

"How _dare _you call _me _hardheaded!" Marlene retorted.

"Enough already!" Kowalski yelled over them. Skipper and Marlene silenced, but still stared daggers into each other. "There _has _to be a way that we can work this out."

"We can't work this out until _he _can learn to understand women!" Marlene insisted.

"Correction: We can't work this out until _she _can understand men and learn to appreciate what we do!" Skipper shot back.

"Well, then, I guess you're never going to work this out because I just don't see any way either of you will understand what the other goes through," Kowalski said, but his expression immediately fell in a way that implied that he'd thought of something ingenious. "Unless…"

Skipper glanced at him. "Unless what?"

"Skipper, I think I have figured out a way to resolve this dispute. I'll be in my lab." He started to walk away, but Skipper put a flipper on his shoulder.

"Kowalski, why do I not like where this is going?" he asked.

"No worries, Skipper. I'll explain in the evening," Kowalski answered pushing his flipper away and exiting Marlene's.

* * *

It'd been a long day. The penguins and Marlene's curiosity grew with each passing second that Kowalski remained in his lab. Flickers of light would show beneath the lab door now and then along with a high-pitched grinding sound. Marlene and Skipper kept their distance across the HQ. Rico and Private played cards. Finally, around 1800, Kowalski emerged from his lab carrying a small device shaped similar to binoculars.

"Eureka! I present to you, the Gendotizer!" he exclaimed in triumph.

"The what, Kowalski?" Skipper asked getting to his feet and approaching him, followed by Marlene, Private, and Rico.

"The Gendotizer! This little device will solve all of your problems."

"And how is that?" Marlene asked, waiting to be convinced.

"The name 'Gendotizer' is derived from the words _gender _and _hypnotize_. Meaning, that the Gendotizer will make you believe that you're the opposite gender. The only difference is that you'll remember every minute of it after it's over, unlike the hypnotizing you're familiar with," Kowalski answered.

"So…You're saying that if I use that…I'll be a female?" Skipper asked with a grimace.

"No, you'll only think you are. And vice-versa for females," Kowalski explained.

"But how is this going to solve our problems?" Marlene asked crossing her arms.

"By experiencing the hardships of the opposite sex for yourselves, you both will receive a greater understanding of each other," Kowalski answered smugly.

"I think that's a great idea!" Private exclaimed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Me…As a _female_? No can do!" Skipper refused.

"What's the matter, Skipper? Afraid that you'll find out how right I was?" Marlene challenged.

"No! I just don't want to relive the DNA mix-up experience," Skipper shot back.

"You mean that time Alice claimed that one of you were female and Kowalski's DNA tester malfunctioned? Please! That wasn't an _experience _as a female! You still portrayed the same stupid female stereotypes that you accuse me of having!" Marlene argued.

"Guys!" Kowalski called, grabbing their attention. When they turned to look at him, he waved the Gendotizer in the air with a smile. "It's worth a shot, right?"

Skipper and Marlene looked at each other for a moment, then Skipper shrugged. "Alright. Twenty-four hours of this little test, then we'll see who's in the right here."

Marlene looked at Kowalski. "What if it doesn't work?"

"I am 94.8% sure that it will. Besides, what have we got to lose?" Kowalski assured them.

Marlene considered. "Alright. Deal." She held her paw out to Skipper, who spit into his flipper and accepted the handshake with a grin. Marlene stared at her paw in disgust, then at Skipper in anger.

"Um…I think we should get this started before someone says…Or _does _something they regret…" Kowalski suggested carefully examining the hard stares Skipper and Marlene were giving each other. He handed the Gendotizer to Marlene. "Alright, you two. Just look through opposite sides of the lenses and hit the button on the top. A few moments later, you will be under the influence of the Gendotizer."

"You're sure this won't switch our minds or something, right?" Skipper asked skeptically.

"Only partially. The parts of each of your minds that distinguishes you from male or female will be switched—such as hobbies and interests—but any other traits about yourselves will remain the same. Such as favorite foods, fears, et cetera," Kowalski explained.

Marlene and Skipper nodded in understanding. "Take over until I'm me again, okay, Kowalski?" Skipper ordered.

"Aye, sir," Kowalski replied with a salute.

Marlene and Skipper looked through opposite sides of the lens. It was dark. Skipper pressed the button on top and a small light appeared in the middle and danced about the darkness. More lights appeared and swirled around them. They slowly began to forget what was happening in their fascination. Their bodies became numb and they couldn't control her thoughts. The lights moved faster and faster through the darkness, then everything went black.

Kowalski caught Marlene as she lost her balance and shook her. "Marlene? Marlene, are you alright? Can you hear me?"

Marlene moaned slightly and her eyes flickered open. "Whoa…What just happened?" she asked; her voice was a little raspy.

Kowalski pushed her to her feet. "Marlene, how do you feel?"

"Bro, don't call me that! The name's Mark. Where am I?" She looked around, unsure of what had just happened.

Meanwhile, Rico had caught Skipper and he had begun to awaken. "Where on earth am I?" His voice had become softer, as did his eyes. He looked up at Rico, who was still holding him from when he fell.

"Hi!" Rico said with a wave.

"Get your hands off me!" he said pushing off of him. "I want to know what's going on this instant!"

Kowalski tried to contain his snickering at how out-of-character Skipper was acting. "It's alright…Uh…Miss…You're perfectly safe. You've…Uh…" Kowalski tried to think of a story off the top of his head. "You had a nasty knock to the cranium, as did, um…Mark, here."

Skipper looked at Marlene, who was standing with her arms crossed and brow cocked, not fully understanding what was happening here. "Wasn't I just peeved at you about something?"

"I dunno. I was thinking the same thing about you. Oh…Wait…Gimme a sec…" Marlene belched. "Excuse me," she said tapping her chest with her fist a couple of times.

Skipper's face twisted in disgust. "Have a little class, Mark."

"What? It tasted like oysters," Marlene replied.

Skipper rolled his eyes. "Men…"

* * *

The next morning, Marlene awoke with a yawn and a stretch and went outside for a morning jog.

Meanwhile, Skipper woke up and went topside and looked at the sunrise. "Wow, it's a wonderful morning, eh, boys?"

The team—who had followed him up—nodded.

"Oh, yeah…It's…Wonderful…" Kowalski answered awkwardly.

"It's wonderful, Sky," Private said with a smile. 'Sky' was what Skipper currently believed was his name.

"Well, you boys go do what you do. I'll go for a walk." Skipper jumped into the pond and swam to the other side before climbing the fence and over.

After walking for a few minutes, he took notice of Marlene jogging around the zoo.

"Hey, Mark! Whatcha doin'?" he asked her with a smile.

"Just a little morning jog to break in the new day. What about you? Aren't you usually cleaning something by now?" Marlene asked slowing to a stop when she closed the distance between herself and Skipper.

Skipper rolled his eyes. "For your information, I'm just enjoying the sunrise. It's nice, isn't it?" he asked looking at the orange-white sky as the sun gradually became completely visible in it.

Marlene glanced at it. "Eh, I'm not much for the sappy stuff, but I guess it's kinda nice. I don't really pay much attention," she answered.

"You know, maybe if you could take a little moment here and there in life to enjoy what it has to offer, you would be a little more happy."

Marlene scoffed. "Sky, I don't have time for all of that stuff."

"Says the _man _who spends most of his time watching _Shirtless Ninja Action Theater _and Monster Truck Rallies," Skipper pointed out.

"At least I don't spend all of my time decorating or daydreaming about boys," Marlene shot back with a playful smile that implied that she was only messing with him.

Skipper looked down a little and mumbled, "I don't know if I'd say that's how I spent _all _of my time…"

Marlene laughed. "Catch ya later, Sky. Enjoy your sunrise," she said with a smile, giving him a light punch in the shoulder before jogging past him. Skipper watched as she left.

* * *

_"Yo, Alice!" _Alice's assistants' voice resounded through her walkie-talkie.

"What? I'm busy, here," Alice answered kicking back at her desk reading a newspaper.

_"Isn't it about time to feed the animals again?"_

Alice looked at her watch, which indicated that it was noon. She rolled her eyes and groaned. "Yeah…I'll be out in a minute." She released the button on her walkie-talkie and sighed long and hard before setting her newspaper down and getting out of her chair.

She covered her face with her arms upon making contact with sunlight. After stopping by Storage and grabbing a variety of bags of foods for the animals, she started her counterclockwise trip around the zoo, throwing the food into the habitats.

"Elephant…Check…Chimps…Check…Hating my life…Check…" Alice mumbled to herself. A movement caught her left eye and she turned her head. Skipper was still walking through the habitats. She carefully set down the few bags of food she had left, making sure to not make a sound as she crept up on him.

Skipper turned around at the last moment, but was too late to dart away before Alice grabbed him. "Gotcha! I don't know how you keep doing this, but it's going to stop," she said as Skipper struggled in her grasp.

"Let go! Let go of me!" Skipper cried trying to free himself. Alice started toward the infirmary.

Marlene jogged around a corner and wiped sweat off of her forehead with the back of her arm. She was just about to stop to rest when she took notice of Alice carrying Skipper to the infirmary and she gasped.

"Oh no…" She ran forward and followed Alice as she went into the infirmary, then put Skipper into a cage and set it on top of the counter. Hiding behind a trash can, she watched as Alice went to a cabinet and started sifting through its contents. Marlene hopped onto the counter while her back was turned.

"Mark? What are you doing here?" Skipper asked in a whisper.

"Sh! I'm bustin' you outta here," Marlene answered as she began trying to pick the lock with her claws. She dug her claw in harder, but the sound of the cabinet door closing forced her to hide behind a large jar of tongue suppressors.

Alice approached the counter reading the label of a thin, rectangular box. "_'This device will remain permanent. Use: Sounds an alarm if subject leaves a given radius. Warning: Do not use in animals under ten pounds. Do not ingest. Directions: Cleanse injection site and inject just under the first layer of skin. The device should take a minimum of ten minutes to activate.'_ Hm. Whatever." She opened the end of the box and pulled out a thin syringe.

Skipper squeaked. "Needle!" he choked.

Marlene's eyes widened as Alice started opening the cage and Skipper pushed himself against the back, trying to get away from her grasp. Marlene jumped onto the counter and pounced on Alice's hand, knocking the syringe to the floor.

"Whoa! What in the world!?" Alice cried as she tried to assess what just happened.

Marlene darted into the cage and pulled Skipper out by his flipper. "Run!" she told him.

Skipper jumped off of the counter and started for the door. Marlene turned just in time to see Alice coming at her with the syringe and she jumped out of the way.

"Come here, you!" Alice called in frustration.

Marlene waited for the perfect moment; Alice thrust her hand toward her and she dashed up her arm and kicked off of her neck, knocking her out. The syringe fell from her hand and landed on the floor with a _clink_. Marlene picked it up and examined it. The light danced off the end of the needle and into her eyes.

"Mark?"

Marlene looked up at the sound of Skipper's voice. "I thought I told you to get out of here."

"I couldn't leave you behind. What if Alice caught you?"

Marlene smiled. "I can take care of myself."

Skipper smiled back. "I know. Thanks, by the way. You're a good friend."

Marlene tossed the syringe into the nearest trash bin and stepped up to Skipper's side. "I know." Skipper laughed at her reply. "Come on, I'll walk you to your habitat," Marlene said offering Skipper her arm. Skipper looped his flipper through and they left the infirmary together.

* * *

By around 1700, most of the day had slowed down. Private watched reruns of the Lunacorns, Kowalski stayed cooped up in his lab running tests on who-knows-what, and Rico kicked back at the table with the latest issue of _Kaboom _magazine.

"Rico, get your feet off my table," Skipper ordered when he took notice.

"Sorry…" Rico said removing his feet as instructed, though rolling his eyes when Skipper wasn't looking.

Skipper returned to his game of chess with Marlene, his move resulting in the taking of one of Marlene's pawns. He took notice of his reflection in the small head.

"Hey, Mark, be honest with me. Does this lighting make my feathers look too shiny?" Skipper asked. Marlene rolled her eyes.

"You look fine," she said as she made her move. That's when Kowalski emerged from his lab with the Gendotizer.

"Hey guys, check out what I just made. A kaleidoscope," he said holding it up with a grin.

Private became confused. "But isn't that your—" Kowalski cleared his throat while giving him a hard stare. Private looked at Skipper and Marlene. "Oh…Yes. It's an _interesting _looking kaleidoscope."

"That's because two can look through it at once. Hey! Here's a thought, how about you and Mark test it out. It's pretty neat!" Kowalski urged looking at Skipper and Marlene.

Skipper shrugged. "Sure. What can go wrong with a kaleidoscope? It can't explode, right?"

Marlene smiled and nodded in agreement. Kowalski rolled his eyes in annoyance. Skipper took the Gendotizer from him and he and Marlene looked through the opposite ends of it.

"It's dark," Marlene pointed out.

"Hit the button on top," Kowalski instructed.

Marlene did so and that same light flickered in the middle before more lights joined in and swirled around weaving in and out and around each other. Their bodies, once again, became numb and thoughts became empty. Finally, everything went black. Marlene and Skipper awakened a moment later with the assistance of the team. For a moment, none of them spoke. Skipper broke the silence first.

"So…That was an…_Interesting _experience."

Marlene nodded awkwardly. "Mm-hm…"

Skipper cleared his throat slightly. "Would, um…You like to go first? Or should I?"

"It doesn't matter," Marlene answered quietly, still feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Skipper took a deep breath. "Well…I think I understand a few things a little better. The reason you find what we do uninteresting is because you're more focused on seeing the qualities in life. I've never enjoyed a sunrise like that before. And the reason you disagree with us going on missions is because you never know which ones will be our last. You worry about us because we're your friends," he finished.

Marlene looked down a little. "That's exactly how I feel."

Skipper looked down at himself. "I'm sorry I judged you, Marlene."

Marlene sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I thought you meant that you only enjoyed helping others to feel better about yourself. But you really meant that you enjoyed the feeling that the ones you care about are safe. That's what makes you feel that sense of accomplishment. I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions."

"No, I understand. I'm sorry I was so insensitive. Can you forgive me?"

"Can _you _forgive _me_?" Marlene asked shying a smile at him.

Skipper smiled back. "Call it even."

Marlene smiled and she and Skipper embraced.

"So…How 'bout that massage?" Skipper asked with a grin over her shoulder.

Marlene smiled. "Don't push it."


End file.
